The food at Sox games used to be very good for ballpark food, but that was years ago. Sportservice is brutal. It has been for a long time. Somewhere along the way, too, the Sox have confused quantity with quality. The food options are at an all-time high, but I would say the quality is at an all-time low. I try to buy as little at the park as possible these days after growing tired of receiving overpriced cold dogs and warm beer. Is it that hard to get the basics right?

On top of it, all of the added portable stands now do a good job of blocking the view of the field from the concourse. That view used to be a unique feature to the park. It's not the biggest thing in the world, but still...

It's not impossible to serve mass quantities of relatively good food. Taste of Chicago does it every year. Then again, the Taste vendors have a stake in their product. Sportservice doesn't seem to care about much beyond collecting your money. And I guess the organization doesn't care about much beyond collecting Sportservice's high bid.

The food at Sox games used to be very good for ballpark food, but that was years ago. Sportservice is brutal. It has been for a long time. Somewhere along the way, too, the Sox have confused quantity with quality. The food options are at an all-time high, but I would say the quality is at an all-time low. I try to buy as little at the park as possible these days after growing tired of receiving overpriced cold dogs and warm beer. Is it that hard to get the basics right?

On top of it, all of the added portable stands now do a good job of blocking the view of the field from the concourse. That view used to be a unique feature to the park. It's not the biggest thing in the world, but still...

It's not impossible to serve mass quantities of relatively good food. Taste of Chicago does it every year. Then again, the Taste vendors have a stake in their product. Sportservice doesn't seem to care about much beyond collecting your money. And I guess the organization doesn't care about much beyond collecting Sportservice's high bid.

It was better under Levy. Perhaps Lip or someone can clarify when they switched to Sportservice (whose parent company is Delaware North, owned by Jeremy Jacobs). I want to say that the club level food options are still run by Levy.

Trips to the concessions stands aren't a big part of my ballpark experience. As long as the Beers of the World vendors continue to work as efficiently as they always have, I'll continue to be delighted on that end.

My whine has to do with my fellow fans, many of whom apparently don't realize that the time to stand up from their seats and go to and return from the concession stands and restrooms is between innings and not anytime the idea happens to pop into their heads. Now I recognize that many, if not most people do use proper etiquette at the ballpark. And I do realize that parents with young kids have gotta go when they gotta go. But one person who doesn't pay attention can annoy a lot of people over the course of 9 innings.

Last time I was at Fenway in 2004, I sat in the right center field, where the aisles are very narrow and the seats elevation is pretty shallow. The ushers prevented people from returning to their seats at will. That isn't the answer for the Cell, but a gentle reminder on ballpark etiquette might not be completely out of line. There is already an etiquette announcement about behavior in the neighborhood before/after games. Perhaps a line or two could be added requesting fans to be considerate of their fellow fans?

Trips to the concessions stands aren't a big part of my ballpark experience. As long as the Beers of the World vendors continue to work as efficiently as they always have, I'll continue to be delighted on that end.

My whine has to do with my fellow fans, many of whom apparently don't realize that the time to stand up from their seats and go to and return from the concession stands and restrooms is between innings and not anytime the idea happens to pop into their heads. Now I recognize that many, if not most people do use proper etiquette at the ballpark. And I do realize that parents with young kids have gotta go when they gotta go. But one person who doesn't pay attention can annoy a lot of people over the course of 9 innings.

Last time I was at Fenway in 2004, I sat in the right center field, where the aisles are very narrow and the seats elevation is pretty shallow. The ushers prevented people from returning to their seats at will. That isn't the answer for the Cell, but a gentle reminder on ballpark etiquette might not be completely out of line. There is already an etiquette announcement about behavior in the neighborhood before/after games. Perhaps a line or two could be added requesting fans to be considerate of their fellow fans?

I'm not entirely sure that they even teach ushers in general this anymore. I've actually been yelled at during Bulls games for standing in the entryway and NOT going back to my seat during the action. When I tell them I'm waiting for the next dead ball so I don't bother everyone, I'm told tough, keep moving. I know its a different sport, but I would say it is even more important at timed games.

Also, one other thing. Took Metra in and noticed that the mural that was unveiled with much fanfare underneath the 35th Street Metra viaduct celebrating Black baseball is gone. Anybody know what happened to it?

There was a story in the news a few weeks ago. It got vandalized by some *******s.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheVulture

State law won't permit you to elaborate on state law?

No. I cannot say how it is those kids get hired. If I mention the law involved, it would be strong tip-off and that would violate the law.

I know I bring this up every single year and nothing is ever done about it, but I just feel the need once more. Can the 500 level murals stop going up to 2002? Where's the 2003 All-Star Game? Where's the '05 World Series run? Where's the Blackout Game? Or Buehrle's perfecto? Are they not updating it because they already have large photos of them on the exit ramp and other parts of the ballpark? Paulie is the last player on that wall still with the team. Nothing from the U.S. Cellular Field era. If they have to consolidate some of the other decades, so be it. I just want the team history to all be in the same place on the same wall.

It was better under Levy. Perhaps Lip or someone can clarify when they switched to Sportservice (whose parent company is Delaware North, owned by Jeremy Jacobs). I want to say that the club level food options are still run by Levy.

I don't think people realize that sportservice has and will be around forever. I love the Portillo's idea, but unfortunately for us that will never happen. We are stuck with sportservice. It's another reason why the club level is better. You don't have the issue with fans blocking your view going down the aisle. No bathroom lines and you get Levy instead of sportservice.

OK, I've just got back from my second game of the year and I'll try to throw some positives into this thread on the ballpark experience this year.

1. There seemed to be a lot less noise and announcements between inning more than a few times, the inning would end and the organist would play over crowd shots on the scoreboard. It was kind of laid back and relaxing for an afternoon game. AND... No stupid on top of the dugout dance contests!

What a welcome change if they keep it up! I hate all the constant announcements and canned sounds, along with the constant movement of vendors and fans while the game is in progress.

Went to the game yesterday with the knit bomber hat giveaway. We got to gate 5 a little before noon for a 12:10pm start time. The security guard said that all gates were out of the hats. He said it in a total "deal with it" voice. We knew better and walked down to gate 3 where they had boxes and boxes of hats and calendars. There were 20K available to give away and I doubt attendance was much higher than that. Is it so hard to radio someone at each gate to let them know the inventory situation? A disappointed family went in to gate 5 right after the guard was telling people there were no more available. They could have easily gone to gate 3 and all gotten the very nice giveaway. That is just bad customer service. Gate 4 also had boxes of the hats but no one can go in that way unless they have skybox/suite tickets.

-Ordered a cheese quesadilla at the mexican stand in center field just prior to first pitch and had to wait around 10 minutes. The grill did not appear hot enough and the lady making them kept trying to spread the cheese with her hands and smashing it against the griddle to get it to cook. We missed the new intro video and couldn't understand the voiceover. Definitely the low light of the day.

- Irish nachos were good. Plenty of cheese sauce, sour cream, and fresh chives. We waited in line around 4-5 minutes and as soon as we got to the front, the lady behind the counter told us to go to a different line because she had to go. We eventually got her attention as she was talking to some co-workers and she came back and took our order. I'm not sure what happened there, but it was annoying.

- Vienna beef with grilled onions from a field side stand near 127 was excellent. The two ladies working there were busting their asses to get the long line moving quickly. One of the ladies even stopped what she was doing to help a young fan who asked her where the nacho cart was. And the dog didn't disappoint.

- Beers of the Midwest stand was good as always, but I didn't see any large cans of PBR. Has anyone seen PBR?

Okay, I'm mad. I just saw on TV that Julio Cruz and Rudy Law were at the game and signing autographs today. The appearances were not promoted anywhere to my knowledge. I'd have gone to the game if I would have known they'd be at the game. Why in the world wouldn't you promote their appearances? It reminds me of a game last year when Dick Allen and Rich Gossage had an autograph session before a throwback game, but it wasn't promoted. What's going on here? Do the Sox even have a public relations/marketing department?

Okay, I'm mad. I just saw on TV that Julio Cruz and Rudy Law were at the game and signing autographs today. The appearances were not promoted anywhere to my knowledge. I'd have gone to the game if I would have known they'd be at the game. Why in the world wouldn't you promote their appearances? It reminds me of a game last year when Dick Allen and Rich Gossage had an autograph session before a throwback game, but it wasn't promoted. What's going on here? Do the Sox even have a public relations/marketing department?

It wasn't promoted well, but it was announced (go to http://chicago.whitesox.mlb.com/sche....jsp?c_id=cws#, click on today's date). Honestly, from the Sox perspective, I can kind of see why you wouldn't promote that very hard - I was 3 in 1983 and honestly couldn't care less about their autographs, I'm sure most people my age or younger wouldn't either. They're promoting the Family Sunday concept and the throwbacks and stuff, they don't have unlimited ability to push every little thing when a large portion of fans won't care.

Also, as an aside, looking at future family Sundays it looks like most are going to have autograph sessions by 1983 people, so if you care about that sort of thing, check it out.

Okay, I'm mad. I just saw on TV that Julio Cruz and Rudy Law were at the game and signing autographs today. The appearances were not promoted anywhere to my knowledge. I'd have gone to the game if I would have known they'd be at the game. Why in the world wouldn't you promote their appearances? It reminds me of a game last year when Dick Allen and Rich Gossage had an autograph session before a throwback game, but it wasn't promoted. What's going on here? Do the Sox even have a public relations/marketing department?

Just a wild guess... Probably because you're talking about Julio Cruz and Rudy Law. They're not exactly celebrities.

I've always had good experiences at the ball park. You guys have to understand that the people working are typically dealing with drunk *******s and not getting tipped. It's a tough job and they're probably underpaid. Cut them some slack.

Traffic management employees are absolutely awful everywhere around the city. That's the city's problem, not the Sox.

In general, Chicago just isn't a friendly place.

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Quote:

Originally Posted by shoota

I'm not counting this homerun or his 3 RBI from today's game because of the game situation. I'm not counting his pinch hit solo homerun in a blowout win in Colorado. In my book, Crede has 2 less home runs than his statistics show, 4 less RBI, and one less walk (the one where he pinch hit for Uribe after coming in with a 3-0 count and taking one pitch).